A total of 8 medals from 11 teams giving a return of 73%. We finished 10th on the overall medal tally from 36 teams – what an amazing effort.

Men 160+ 1500
Mark ‘I got this’ Gregory just toyed with field and put the foot to the floor when it mattered leading home and changing over in first place. Daz ‘ Just enjoy the 1st place moment’ Free did just that and ran a strong leg from a short fast start. Ken ‘ it’s all coming back to me’ Cross settled into the third leg quickly and consolidated his racing presence with a one for the team effort. James ‘ Rudisha’ Costello closed a 300m gap to just 50m with a competitive effort to finish and place 3rd

Female Open 800
Nicole Berridge look first leg and showed that 400m training has not diminished 800 results. Nicole Hutton debuted for team AE and with a solid run. Rona Macniven worked to maintain position and Lisa Biffin finished steady in preparation for the afternoons medley relay.

Female 160+ 800
This race was run with the Open 800 and Jane Boyd ran a strong first leg to hand over in 2nd place. Jude Gregory and Naomi Tancred opened their weekends accounts with fine legs both working through the field. Sally Hannah hit the anchor leg losing no ground to bring the team on 1st place.

Male 120+ 800
Nero ‘I can do anything’ ran a great first leg with a seasons best time. Jim ‘Left my lungs on the back straight’ Hotait debut relay run battled through successfully and kept the team in the game. Ken ‘Mr Tactics’ Wilson worked almost the whole distance and gave James ‘Rudisha’ Costello a 350m deficit to chase, which he amazingly reduced to an astounding 50m to finish second.

Female U16 100
Breathtaking first place with almost undetectable changeovers. The baton passing of this team put to shame many Olympic national team relays it was faultless and complimented the great running from each member. The time this team of youngsters, Sophie Sullivan, Maisie Stevens, Isabel De Paolantonio and Sara Dougan ran would have won the U20 division.

Female 120+ 1500
Gill ‘I’m back’ Sohun ran a scintillating first leg recording a very smart time. Jane Boyd settled into her second run of the day well. A positive effort keeping the team well positioned. Naomi Tancred followed with a similar effort for Rona Macniven to finish.

Female Medley (800,400,200,200)
This was a first for AE and was a most entertaining affair. Lisa Biffin ran a seasons best for the first 800 leg improving on every run. Handing over baton to Nicole Berridge to storm a 400 moving through the field to finish 5th. Late additions Jude ‘How fast can a Gregory go’ and Naomi ‘Usian’ Tankenater excelled in showing leg speed that defied age and bodily functionality, stepping in at the last moment due to injuries to the original members. The girls finished with a club record to their name.

Female 120+ 800
Rebecca ‘start your engines’ Holmes stepped back into relay mode after a year’s hiatus and ran strong for an excellent 2:39 time. Gillian ‘I thought anaerobic was a place’ Sohun tested herself admirably with a fast start, hung strong in middle and handed over to Jane ‘ 3rd race’ Boyd. Boydsy put it out there and never gave quarter to the leading Uni team. Jude ”how fast can a Gregory go’ put it to the test again and followed suit from the previous days medley leg with a fully committed to exhaustion effort that resulted in a team 2nd place.

Female U14 100
The girls only just made the start line in their heat with Francesca arriving at the last moment due to other morning commitments. The team of Emma Iorfino, Zuni Mendez, Jemima Keay Doak and Francesca Heyko-Porebski stormed home in 3rd place to easily qualify for the final later in the day. The final was again an exercise in disciplined baton exchanging and the girls finished a creditable 4th in the final running 2 seconds quicker than the heat run.

Male 120+ 1500
James Costello started this time and ran a strong leg against younger opposition to keep the team in the middle of the field. Ken Wilson ran his best 1500 for years to maintain the team position. Darren Free ran a super 2nd race of the weekend to give Mark Gregory an easy run home in first place.

Female 160+ 1500
Sally Hannah ran first leg and handed over team in first place. Jane Boyd kept team position with a strong 4th run for the weekend. Gillian Sohun ran courageously and finished with a time similar to previous day. Rebecca Holmes completed the team with her second run of the day and will benefit greatly from her efforts.

Quotes from the weekend

“Don’t give up” – a U14 runner coming past Jane in the 1500 relay

A confused 4th leg runner before the race started – “Where do I get my baton”

Comment to Jude and Naomi before the medley relay – “You are going to die in the 200m”